"This is all your fault." I seethe, marching towards Dakota as I point my index finger at his chest, poking it hard with each syllable.

His hands shoot up, dropping the book. "How is this my fault?"

"You're the one who kept making it go up and down a million times!" I growl, throwing my hands up as I stand on my tippy toes to glare into his eyes.

Dakota gives me an innocent expression. "Now just how was I supposed to know we'd get stuck?"

"You're infuriating." I huff, my eyes remaining narrowed at his wide eyes.

"So I'm told." He says lowly, leaning forward. My eyes widen as he gets closer and closer, my palm coming up to his forehead to hold his face at a distance, his eyes closed.

"What are you doing?" I ask him, my brows pulled together.

His eyes remain closed as he smiles, dimples appearing in his cheeks. "I thought we were having a moment." He hums, his eyes opening cheekily.

"We are not having a moment." I spit out, pushing him back as far from me as possible. The distance being only a few feet seeing as we're stuck in an elevator.

"We could be having a moment."

"No we most certainly could not." I huff, crossing my arms once again.

He shrugs, leaning back against the wall. "It's like one of those scenarios where the girl is attracted to the guy but covers it up by being all temperamental and then yells at him. Then they kiss." I can tell by his expression that he's holding back a laugh, his cockiness fueling my frustration.

"Dakota, I'm in no mood to deal with this. Or you." I say calmly, taking a deep breath and releasing it to contain my anger.

He takes another step towards me but I hold up my hand. "Don't." I demand and he instantly stops and steps backwards once again. "Thank you."

"Let me know when you're not mad at me anymore." He tells me nonchalantly before taking a seat on the floor.

I purse my lips. "I'm not mad."

"Yeah you are." Dakota laughs, gesturing to me, "You're face is blood red and you look like you want to kill me."

"Fair enough." I sigh, looking around the small confined space as I try to calm my heart beat. I've never been particularly fond of being stuck in small spaces. I'd say I'm claustrophobic but if I admit it to myself, I might start hyperventilating. "How are you so calm about this?" I ask him, pushing at the buttons, willing for them to light up but having no such luck.

His head cocks to the side as he crosses his outstretched legs in front of him and his hands entangled in his lap. "What do you mean?"

After a moments hesitation, I slide down the wall and take a seat where I am, crossing my legs Indian style. "I don't know, you just seem so okay with being trapped in here. I mean, all of my coworkers have already gone home and if the elevator doesn't start working soon, we're going to have to call nine one one. That is, if we can get any service in here." I rant, pulling out my phone.

He pauses before responding with, "I've dealt with worse. This won't last long, trust me."

I set my cell phone on the floor next to me, my head cocking slightly to the side with curiosity. "Worse than being suspended in the air in an immobile elevator with a stranger?" I laugh at his relaxed posture.

He smiles softly. "Believe it or not, yes. Much worse."

"How so?" I ask, now feeling intrigued.

Dakota blows through his cheeks, hanging his head back as if preparing for the story. "Well..." he begins, "first of all, I was trapped in a house with my sister and her boyfriend for like three days."

"Really? Why?"

"Remember that snow storm that happened right before Christmas?" He asks me with a wince.

"Yeah..." I reply, watching his reminiscent smile with curiosity.

"We got stuck in his house. Let's just say that my twin found love and I was stuck third wheeling." He snorts as if the memory is absolutely appalling.

My eyes widen. "You mean your sister is your twin?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, unfortunately. Her name's Sam. Well - Samantha. We call her Sam for short." His eyes roll as he speaks of his sibling.

I laugh at his attitude towards the whole situation. "I see. Are you and the guy friends at least?"

Dakota considers this for a moment. "Winter? Yeah I guess we're pretty good friends. But it's one of those things where you're like, okay does he like me for my sister or are we actually bros? You know?" He sighs.

"Uh..." I chuckle. "Sure?"

"So yeah this is nothing. This time I'm stuck somewhere that's not freezing and instead of being with my sister and Winter, I'm in close quarters with a pretty girl. I'd say I'm winning." He grins, placing his hands behind his head as he watches me for my reaction.

Despite the flush in my cheeks, I roll my eyes. "Shut up."

"I'm serious. You're gorgeous." He states bluntly. My eyes search his face for any hint of a lie or tease but I come up empty handed.

"Thanks I guess." I say lowly, pushing my glasses up my nose and tucking my dark hair behind my ear.

"You're welcome." He smiles as if it's no big deal and pulls out his phone.

I spend the next few silent moment using my people reading skills to the best of my ability. The way Dakota acts is almost unreal to me because I've never encountered someone so sure of what they want to say. I've never met someone so willing to throw their feelings and inner thoughts to the wind either.

I can't tell if he's overly confident or if I'm not confident enough. I would never speak so bluntly to someone I've only just met. It's just simply not who I am.

Unlocking my own phone, I sigh at the twenty percent notification and quickly put it in low power mode, turning the brightness all the way down, and locking it again. I set it aside and allow my eyes to raise, watching Dakota curiously as he stares down at his phone.

"Do you have service?" I ask him.

He sighs, shaking his head. "There are moments where I have one bar and then it goes away. What's the WiFi password here? It's kind of odd that a public book store and cafe doesn't have public WiFi." His snort brings my usual sigh out of me.

I answer the way I usually do on a regular basis, "It's mostly old people who shop and work here so the owner never got WiFi seeing as he's an old rich guy himself and it gives him a reason to save money." The explanation sounds pathetic even to me but what else is new.

"That's stupid no wonder business is so slow."

"Tell me about it." I reply, "I've been trying to get my manager, Amelia, to talk to the owner about making some changes since I started working here."

"What does she think about it?" He asks me, setting his phone down as well after he sees that I'm not on mine.

I shrug, resting my head on the wall behind me. "She's old too so she doesn't care. I have to be honest, the whole no WiFi thing is kind of growing on me."

"How so?"

"I don't know, I guess it's the idea of being unplugged. When I'm here I'm just surrounded by rows and rows of words and knowledge, I feel like everything I need is here. I don't think I've ever wished I could look something up or watch a YouTube video. I genuinely enjoy being here." I finish almost in a daze before my cheeks turn red and my eyes dart in Dakota's direction. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling." I laugh nervously.

He blinks at me, giving me a curious look. "Don't be. I like that you're smart." His simple words bring a genuine laugh out of me.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm overly smart. I do, however, enjoy reading about those who truly are." My response seems to bring an even wider smile to his face as he studies.

"Liar. Just the way you talk sounds smart." He rolls his eyes. "You make me feel illiterate."

I fight a grin. "I don't know. Your use of the word 'hellacious' is rather impressive."

He freezes, a look of dramatic shock overcoming his features as he gasps. "Are you teasing me? Are we in an alternate universe?"

I throw my head back, a large laugh emitting from my lips. "Not quite. I saw an opportunity and I took it, plain and simple."

"Understood. I won't take it personally then." Dakota says, crossing his arms over his toned chest.

"Good."